Born in Beloit, Wisconsin, Michael Story was encouraged to draw in his childhood and was taught by his grandfather, Ken Osgood, a professional artist. His family moved to Pennsylvania and later South Carolina. After high school, Story began art studies at East Carolina, then transferred to the University of South Carolina, where he earned a BFA degree in 1975. Later he began freelancing, establishing himself as an illustrator and designer, but the confines of advertising art eventually brought about a shift toward fine art.

In 1981 Story enrolled in his first watercolor class with the late South Carolina artist Robert Mills. The following year he traveled to New York, where he studied pastel and oil painting with internationally known artist Daniel Greene. Story subsequently began experiencing success in competitions and shows, developing a following of corporate collectors, private buyers, and art galleries. His love of the water and familiarity with southern rivers and barrier islands triggered a subsequent exploration of those subjects for many of his paintings.

Recent travels to the southwestern United States and Canada uncovered a new artistic direction for Story. The internal glow of Arizona and New Mexico became the catalyst for a re-examination of color and light. A winter journey to Winnipeg allowed him to reflect on the stark, frozen beauty of our northern neighbor, realizing the importance on taking a “less is more approach” to painting it. Both places have become the current focus for a new body of work that Story is undertaking.

Today Michael Story is an award-winning artist who regularly teaches pastel and oil

painting, guest lectures, and juries art shows. His landscape paintings have been featured in numerous publications, gracing the cover of South Carolina Wildlife, South Carolina Business, Lexington Life, Sandlapper, and Palmetto Banker magazines. He has also been the focus of feature articles in South Carolina Homes & Gardens, Lexington Life, Sandlapper, and Arts Across Kentucky. His client list of private buyers and prominent corporate collectors has continued to grow, including the Marriott Corporation, The Cloister at Sea Island, Georgia, Progressive Energy of Florida, The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island, Holiday Inn, Fluor Corporation, Erving Texas, and Walt Disney World, along with major banking institutions and healthcare facilities. Story also has work showcased in the Bush Presidential Library in Houston. His paintings have been reproduced by major publishers such as Canadian Art Prints of British Columbia and distributed worldwide.